Railway-spike.



No. 637,525. Patented Nov. 2|, I899. A. F. PRIEST.

RAILWAY SPIKE.

(Application filed Feb. 88, 1899.)

(No finial.)

Iii regular el/aim 71 F 7/86 7n: uonms PETERS ca. PHOTQUI/HQ.WASHINGTON, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT FFICE.

AUGUSTUS F. PRIEST, OF DENVER, COLORADO.

RAI LWAY-SPI KE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 637,525, dated November21, 1899. Application filed February 23, 1899. $eria1ll'0- 706,550. (N0m m To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that L-Aucusrus F. PRIEST, a citizen of the United States,residing at Den ver, in the county of Arapahoe and State of Colorado,have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Railway-Spikes,ofwhich the following is a specifioation,reference being had therein tothe accompanying drawings.

The invention relates to railway-spikes; and the principal object of myinvention is to provide a spike that will produce no more frictionduring the operation of driving than the ordinary spike and will have aconsiderably-greater amount of holding power after it is driven withinthe tie.

With this object in View myinvention consists, essentially, of a spikehaving a movable section formed in its shank, said section con stitutinga complementary portion of the shank, whereby the friction in drivingwill be no greater than in the ordinary spike and .means for projectingoutwardly from the shank the lower portion of said section at the latterend of the driving movement, thereby forming an abutment at the lowerend of said spike constituting an additional resistance to the verticalpull exerted by the rail.

The invention further consists in the peculiar construction,arrangement, and combination of the various parts of the spike, as willbe more fully hereinafter described.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved spike,the movable section thereof being detached. Fig. 2 is a sectionalelevation showing the spike partly driven within the tie and Fig. 3 is asectional view of the spike, illustrating the latter as entirely drivenwithin the tie.

The reference-letter A designates the spikeshank, provided at its upperend with the overhanging head B and terminating at its lower end in asolid point C. The inner face of the shank below the overhanging head isprovided with a longitudinal recess D, extending the entire length ofthe shank, and the head is preferably provided with a recess E inalinement and communicating with the recess in the shank. At the lowerend of the shank the recessed face is notched to form a shoulder Fdirectly above the point andthe inclined faces a and b.

The letter G designates the movable section, which is fitted within therecess D and constitutes a complementary portion of the shank. Thesection referred to is in the form of a spline H, provided at one endwith alateral projecting head I. The opposite end of the spline issquared, as plainly shown in Fig. 1, and is provided with lateral wingsJ and K, upon which are formed inclined faces a d. The spline isarranged within the recess in the manner shown in Fig. 2, with the headI at some little distance below the spike-head and the incline upon thewings engaging with the inclines upon the shank. This relation of partsis maintained during the driving of the spike until the latter end ofsaid driving movement, when the spline is caused to slide within therecessed shank, and through the cooperation of the inclines upon saidshank and spline the lower portion of the latter is forced outward, asshown in Fig. 3, constituting an enlargement at the lower end of thespike, which greatly aids in resisting the vertical pull exerted by therail.

It will be observed from the construction as set forth that simple meanshave been provided whereby the holding power of the spike isconsiderably increased, while the friction due to driving is practicallythe same as in an ordinary spike. It will likewise be observed that aspike of this construction can be more readily withdrawn from the tiethan an ordinary spike, as upon the first part of the upward movementthe spike proper slides for a certain distance in its upward travel uponthe spline.

What I claim as my invention is 1. In a spike, the combination with theshank terminating at one end in a point adapted to be driven within thetie, and at the 0pposite end in an overhanging head, said shank having alongitudinal recess formed in the face thereof beneath the overhangingportion of the head, a movable section fitting within said recessbeneath the spike-head, said section forming a complementary portion ofthe shank and constructed to engage with the rail-flange, and means forspreading, during the latter part of the driving movement of the spike,the section and shank.

2. In a spike, the combination of the shank terminating at one end in apoint adapted to be driven within the tie and at the opposite end in anoverhanging head, said shank having a longitudinal recess formed in itsface beneath the overhanging portion of said head, a movable sectionfitting within said recess beneath the spike-head, said section beingconstructed to bear continually against the rail-flange and to engagewith the latter, and means for spreading, during the latter part of thedriving movement of the spike, the lower portion of the section andshank.

3. In a spike, the combination with a shank terminating at one end in apoint adapted to be driven within the tie, and in the opposite end in anoverhanging head, said shank having a longitudinal recess formed in itsface beneath the head, a spline fitting within the recess and forming acomplementary portion of the shank, a head on the spline beneath theoverhanging spike-head adapted to strike the rail-flange and hold thespline from movement during the latter part of the driving movement, andmeans for forcing out laterally, beyond the shank, an abutment at thelower portion of the spike by the movement of the shank relatively tothe spline.

4. In a spike, the combination of the shank terminating at one end at apoint adapted to be driven within the tie, and at the opposite end in anoverhanging head, said shank having the face beneath said overhanginghead uniformly recessed, a spline fitting within said recess and forminga complementary portion of the shank, a head on the spline below thespike head adapted to strike the railflange and hold the spline frommovement during the latter part of the driving movement, andcomplementary inclines upon the spline and shank adapted upon themovement of the latter relatively to the spline, to force the lower endof said spline out laterally beyond the shank to form a holdingenlargement in the wood.

5. In a spike, the combination of a shank terminating at one end in ahead and at the opposite end in a solid point, one of the faces of theshank being longitudinally recessed its entire length, inclines formedin said recessed face adjacent to the point, a headed spline within therecess forming a complementary portion of the shank, and inclines formedupon the lower end of the spline engaging and adapted to cooperate withthe inclines upon the shank.

G. In a spike, the combination of a shank terminating at one end in ahead and at the opposite end in a solid point, one of the faces of theshank being longitudinally recessed its entire length, inclines formedin said recessed face adjacent to the point, a headed spline within therecesses forming a complementary portion of the shank, andlaterally-extending wings upon the lower end of the spline havinginclined faces formed thereon adapted to engage the inclines upon theshank.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

AUGUSTUS F. rnm s'r.

Witnesses:

JOHN T. CASEY, JAMES M. SIMPSON.

